Steel-coil carrying car



M A H G m N N U c B lm STEEL-COIL CARRYING CAR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledFeb. 25, 1965 QOOZOOO 0000 LJnIlIIII Dec. 13, 1966 Filed Feb. 25, 1965J. B. CUNNINGHAM STEEL-COIL CARRYING CAR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f :74,11555MM/WMM nited States Patent 3,291,072 STEEL-COIL CARRYING CAR .lames B.Cunningham, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to General Steel Industries, Inc.,Granite City, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 25, 1965, Ser.No. 435,291 6 Claims. (Cl. 10S-367) The invention relates to railwayrolling stock and consists particularly in a vehicle for carrying steelcoils or other heavy cylindrical objects.

Conventional coil-carrying cars are provided with a superstructureforming a single V-shaped though extending lengthwise of the car, thecoils being seated in the trough with their axes extending llengthwiseof the car and their peripheries resting in tangential relation with thesloping sides of the trough. Because such coils vary in diameter from 30inches up to 90 inches, there is much space wasted in conventional carswhen coils of smaller diameter are transported.

It is accordingly a main object of the invention to provide acoil-carrying car or other vehicle in which large diameter coils may becarried in the usual way, and the lading capacity of the car may befully utilized when coils are carried.

The foregoing and additional more detailed objects and advantages willbe achieved by the construction described hereinafter and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a top view of a car embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view along line 2 2 of FIG.1.

FlGS. 3 and 4 are transverse vertical sectional views along lines 3*?,and 4 4 of FIG. l.

The car includes the usual wheels 1, axles 2. and an underframepreferably of one-piece cast steel construction and comprisinglongitudinally extending center sill 3, transversely extending end sills5, body holsters '7, cross bearers 9, cross ties 10, and at each sidebetween the body bolster and the adjacent end sill, a short side sill11.

The superstructure includes transveresly extending upright end walls 13,connected by a pair of elongated outwardly-facinglongitudinally-extending channels with upright webs 17, horizontal topflanges 19 and double bottom flanges 21, 23, the latter resting on andbeing secured rigidly to the transverse underframe members substantiallyintermediate the center sill and the sides of the underframe. Channelmembers 15 are preferably of cast construction and are formed withupright transverse reinforcing ribs 25 spaced apart the same distanceas, and adapted for vertical alignment with, cross bearers 9 and crossties 10. On the inner vertical surfaces of their webs 17 and intransverse alignment with ribs 25, channel members 15 are also formedwith integral hinge brackets 27. At their ends cross bearers 9 and crossties lil mount upright posts 29, preferably of l section, and these inturn rigidly support elongated anglesection side plates 31 which extendthe full length of the car at each side and are rigidly secured at theirends to end walls 13. Side posts 29 and side plates 31 extend to asubstantially higher level than channel members 15, and, with thelatter, provide support for the ends of inwardly and downwardly inclinedmembers 33. Alternate members 33 are supported at their outer endsagainst side posts 29 and the remaining intermediate members 33 aresupported against plates 35 mounted on side plates 31 by brackets 37,the inclination of members 33 transversely of the car being such thattheir projections would intersect substantially on the longitudinalcenter line of the top surface of center sill 3. Pivotally secured3,2%,072 Patented Dec. i3, 1966 rice to hinge brackets `27 are foldingframe members 39 each comprising a rectangular casting with transverselyoutwardly extending apertured brackets at their ends adapted forregistry with stationary pivot brackets 27 and for the receipt of pivotpins 41, the length of individual frames 39 being the same distance asthe interval between adjacent cross bearers and cross ties, thetransverse dimentions of frames 39 being such that when their bevelledinner terminals rest on the upper surface of center sill 3, their uppersurfaces are aligned with the upper surfaces of stationary slopingmembers 33 and form therewith a V-shaped trough extending lengthwise ofthe car. The upper surfaces of members 33 support planking 43 extendingthe full length of the car and each of the frames 39 is similarlyplanked throughout `its length as at 45 to provide a supporting surfacefor the steel coils.

With frames 39 in their lowered positions with their lower bevelledterminals resting on top of center sill 3, coils of any diameter notexceeding the inside distance between the side plates 31 may besupported in the single V-shaped trough so formed.

If smaller coils not exceeding in diameter half the width of the carbetween the inside of the insides of the side plates are to betransported, frames 39 are arranged to be positioned as shown in FIG. 4,i.e., with their inner ends elevated and secured to each other by pin46, thus forming, with stationary sloping members 33, 43, a pair ofV-shaped troughs extending side by side lengthwise of the car andadapted to support pairs of smaller diameter coils in side by siderelation. With this arrangement, because frames 39 are short and can bepositioned at either of the two described positions, the car can bearranged with a single central trough throughout part of its length toaccommodate large diameter colis and can be formed with double side byside troughs throughout the remainder of its length to accommodatesmaller diameter coils in side by side relation, as described above. Forseparating individual coils from each other lengthwise of the car andpreventing shifting of the coils lengthwise of the car, the usualmovable cross members 51 are slidably supported at their ends on thetops of side plates 31 and are adapted for positioning thereonlengthwise of the car by pins 53 extending through registering holes inthe cross member and side plates, the latter holes being spaced apart atfrequent intervals lengthwise of the car to permit selective positioningof cross members 51 lengthwise of the car in accordance with the widthof the supported coils.

Operation of the car is as follows: If it is determined that a fullcarload of large coils are to be loaded, frames 39 are positioned in thelower position shown in FIG. 3, the coils are individually positionedtherein and the separators 51 are moved into engagement with theindividual coils and are held in this position by pinning them to theside plates. If, on the other hand, coils of such diameter that twocould be accommodated abreast of the car, are to be transported, frames39 are swung to the position shown in FIG. 4 and are secured therein bypins passing through the aligned openings in their inner terminalportions, the coils are seated in the side by side troughs in the usualway and separators 51 are positioned Vand secured as described above.lf, on the other hand, both large diameter and smaller diameter coilsare to be transported, proportionate portions of the car may be arrangedto accommodate each group of coils.

The detail of the car may be varied substantially without departing fromthe spirit of the invention and the -exclusive use of thosemodifications coming within the scope of the appended claims iscontemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a vehicle for carrying cylindrical objects, an uuderframe, firstmembers adjacent the sides of said underframe and having transverseinwardly and downwardly sloping surfaces forming the upper portions ofthe legs of a V-shaped trough extending lengthwise of the vehicle,second members disposed transversely inwardly of said first members andhaving surfaces forming the lower portions of both legs of said V-shapedtrough, the inner margins of said second members converging along thelongitudinal center line of said underframe and there being supported onsaid underframe, means rigidly mounted on said underframe and forming asupport thereon for said first members along the outer and inner marginsof the latter, said second members being pivoted about longitudinal axesalong their margins to said means supporting the inner margins of saidfirst members, and being swingable upwardly -about said axes to formwith each other an inverted V and with the upper members a pair ofupright V-shaped troughs, and additional means for securing said secondmembers in said raised position.

2. In a vehicle according to claim 1, said second members being dividedtransversely at spaced intervals lengthwise of the vehicle, eachdivision being separately pivoted whereby the lower portions of saidlegs in part of the vehicle can be lowered to form a single V-shapedtrough and the lower portions of said legs in another part of thevehicle can be raised to form with the adjacent rst members a pair ofV-shaped troughs.

3. In a vehicle according to claim 2, said underframe comprising alongitudinally-extending center sill and a plurality of transversemembers, said means supporting the outer margins of said first memberscomprising upright side posts mounted on the ends of said transversemembers,

4. In a vehicle according to claim 3, said means supporting the innermargins of said rst members comprising longitudinally-extendingupstanding beams supported on said transverse members intermediate saidcenter sill and the outer extremities of said transverse members.

5. In a vehicle according to claim 4,'said side posts supportinglongitudinally extending side plates, said side plates formingadditional supports for the outer ends of said first membersintermediate said side posts.

6. In a vehicle according to claim 5, said rst members comprising spacedtransversely extending beams, and said second members comprisingrectangular frames.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,389,359 8/1921Hosceit 10S-243 1,419,769 6/1922 Scherl 10S-243 1,569,997 l/l926 Moller-243 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Examiner.

